Company demanded to suspend operations for allegedly polluting ocean

2012/05/15 22:08:46

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) A fiber company in Taoyuan County has been demanded Tuesday to suspend operations for allegedly discharging waste water into the ocean and turning the sea water black, county officials said.

The county's Environmental Protection Bureau said the factory, which belongs to Fu Hsun Fiber Industries Co., in Guanyin Township was found to have been allegedly emitting waste water.

The factory even admitted to officials that it does not have sufficient equipment to process waste water, it said.

Bureau officials said they also noticed a huge discrepancy between the amount of water the factory consumed and the amount that it discharged.

The bureau said it has demanded that the factory temporarily shut down all its operations, adding that it does not rule out the possibility of ordering the factory to suspend operations in accordance with the Water Pollution Control Act.

The bureau also handed over evidence associated with the factory's alleged involvement in forging its water discharge records to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for investigations, it said.

The bureau announcement came after bureau officials and local prosecutors collected samples of the polluted water and visited nearby factories a day earlier.

Meanwhile, the bureau denied allegations from environmentalists that it ignored the matter after being informed of the situation, saying that it initiated investigations after seeing a picture of the polluted water, taken by a parachutist, on a Facebook page.